Are You Nobody, Too? Sequel
by favoritefullbloodedhawiian
Summary: Hermione and Severus have battled through unimaginable tragedy-capture, rape war. Through it all, they've managed to find a love neither of them ever foresaw for themselves. Now, eighteen years after the war was won, their everyday lives consist of a family they both cherish. But what happens when a presence long thought vanquished threatens that family?
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: I'm BACK! This is the sequel to Are You Nobody, Too? If you haven't yet read that, I strongly suggest that you do! Reviews are like candy and for this story, I'll be taking suggestions. So please, anything you want to see happen, please drop by and leave it in the comments! Thank you.**

Dawn had barely cracked through the dungeon windows his wife had insisted on conjuring when a weight on Severus Snape's chest woke him up. Years of vigilance and servitude set his nerves on edge, prepared for an attack, but the wide chocolate eyes that met his as soon as he opened them made him feel immediately foolish. Eighteen years had passed since Severus had last faced imminent danger—it felt ridiculous to still react so dramatically.

The weight on his chest was shaking in a fit of ill-suppressed giggles when Severus's face split into a nearly involuntary smile.

"Daddy!" Charlotte giggled, and threw her arms around his neck. "Finally, I thought you'd never get up."

"It's only—" he glanced at the clock, "—six in the morning, sweetheart. You needn't have feared for my health until at least nine." He growled playfully, but indulged the four year old by gathering her into his arms as he sat upright.

"There's my little alarm clock, right on time," purred a voice beside him, and Severus turned to be greeted by a sight that, even after fourteen years, never ceased to leave him breathless.

Hermione Snape reached towards her daughter, who crawled over to her mother willingly. Hermione set about calming the head of raven black curls before allowing Charlotte to nestle in beside her. She glanced at her husband, who hadn't been able to take her eyes off her, and smiled, pulling him close until their daughter was encased in a cocoon between them.

"How's the baby today, Mummy?" chimed the four-year-old.

Hermione smiled and shimmied the covers down so that the swell of her sixth-month pregnancy was visible. "He's been awake far longer than you have," she murmured to Charlotte. "He woke Mum up kicking at 4 am."

"She," Severus murmured, running his hand gently over her belly.

"_He_," Hermione insisted, throwing her husband a playful smirk. "I daresay I've had quite enough to know the difference."

Severus shrugged, and turned his face to Charlotte. "What do you think it is, love?"

Charlotte contemplated her answer as if she was asked the meaning of life.

"Girl," she answered seriously at last, and Hermione threw her hands up in mock defeat.

"Have it your way, then," she said, a smile tugging at her lips. "I just thought poor Spencer could use a little gender support."

Severus grinned, a pure joy bubbling in his heart that 18 years ago he would've thought himself incapable of. "Are your sisters and brother awake yet?"

Charlotte rolled her eyes in exasperation, doing a perfect impression of her father. "'Course not," she groaned as if lamenting the laziness of teenagers. "And Spencer still snores—he kept me and Audra up all night!"

Hermione laughed. "Why don't you go and wake them, then? Be sure to wake Lydia, too—I'll be damned if she's late to class again."

Charlotte was out of bed in a flash, dashing into the hall to perform her favorite charm. They could hear Spencer's complaints from down the hall.

Severus smiled and pulled his wife close to him. "Morning, darling."

Hermione snuggled into his chest and breathed his skin in deeply. "Morning to you, Professor. Have your lessons sorted?"

Severus snorted. "I've been at this job far too long to be frightened by first days. And what of you?"

Hermione shrugged. "Transfiguration is probably one of the easiest subjects to teach," she murmured. "I always have their attention."

Severus cocked an eyebrow. "That makes one of us."

He placed a hand on her belly, searching for his unborn child's movements but it appeared the child was finally resting. Hermione looked into his eyes imploringly.

"You are…happy, aren't you?"

Severus furrowed his brow and moved away just enough so that he could see all of her face.

"I just mean—I know we never exactly agreed on five kids. Becoming the Weasley's was never my life's plan either, but…"

"Hermione," he argued when she trailed off. "Don't you dare question my happiness. I am happier now than I ever thought possible of anyone, let alone me." He cupped her chin and forced her eyes to look at his. "Five kids was never our plan, surely, but plans be damned. I wouldn't change a hair on their beautiful heads. Nor yours."

She smiled genuinely. "I know. I'm sorry love. It's just nice to hear."

She resumed her position cradled firmly against him and he kissed the top of her head. In that position they stayed, until voices erupted in the kitchen.

Severus sighed. "And so it begins."

Hermione laughed. "So it begins."


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: here's the next chapter! Hope you enjoy it. For those of you who haven't seen, I've also begun a new story about Snape and Hermione called, "Life Upturned," so I'd be forever grateful if you'd check that out as well. As always, I await your reviews! They do make all the difference.**

"Just leave it, Audra!"

"Why? I just want to know!"

"You aren't going to like the answer—"

"What _is _the answer?"

"—so just let it go!"

It was this explosive argument that greeted Severus and Hermione that morning when they finally made appearances in the kitchen. Charlotte sat at the head of the table, as per usual, spooning granola into her oatmeal and humming lightly to herself as if the feud was merely soft background music.

Their eldest three were a separate story. Lydia, the oldest and Severus's only Slytherin, sat rigidly in her chair, her beautiful face set into a glare very reminiscent of her father's. The second eldest and first Gryffindor, Spencer, sat clutching his beautiful brown curls and volleying his gaze between his sisters fearfully. Audra, the third eldest and brand-new Gryffindor, had her jaw set in spitting image of her mother, her thin arms crossed over her chest stubbornly.

At their parents' arrival, the voices stopped but the glares continued strong.

"Oh look, dear," Severus drawled with an exaggerated eye-roll. "We've clearly raised three perfect angels whom are never inclined to arguing."

Hermione threw her eyes to the heavens in mock gratitude. "What _did_ we do to deserve such wondrously behaved children?" Sighing, she murmured, "I'll be glad when they finally move into their dormitories tomorrow."

Audra let out a growl of exasperation, not at all amused by her parents' goading. "I was just wondering—"

"Audra!" Lydia screeched, slamming her fists on the table. "What did I say?"

"Well, WHY NOT?"

"Please, stop," Spencer groaned.

"Enough," Severus said quietly but the children were well conditioned to this tone. The noise stopped immediately. "Now, who is going to tell me calmly what in Merlin's name is going on?"

Lydia shook her head, her dark eyes seeking out her father's. "It's nothing, Dad—we'll just drop it." She smoothed back her pin-straight black hair into a ponytail that reached the middle of her back.

Audra huffed. "We will not," she replied haughtily. Swinging to face her father, her chocolate waves tumbling all around her shoulders, she murmured, "I have a question, Dad, and Lydia thinks it'll upset you."

Severus furrowed his brow and eyed his eldest curiously. Despite his reputation as a teacher, he actually had a tremendously lenient temper when it came to his kids—he rarely ever raised his voice. Lydia merely avoided his gaze but glared at her sister.

"You can ask me anything, girls," he said seriously. "I hope you know that."

"See," Audra exclaimed triumphantly, sticking her tongue out.

Lydia threw her hands up. "Fine," she murmured. "So much for keeping the peace."

Before Severus could comment, Audra voiced the question that burned her so. "Daddy, what's a Death Eater?"

Immediately, silence filled the kitchen except for the glass Hermione dropped by the sink and Charlotte's incessant humming. Hermione spun around and eyed Severus fearfully, now agreeing with her eldest and uncertain of his reaction.

Severus wasn't aware he'd held his breath until he let it out again. He was very still for several moments. At long last, he said, "Where did you hear that?"

Audra squirmed in her seat, now very uncomfortable. She wished she'd listened to Lydia, who was very generous with the I-told-you-so glances she was offering. "I—someone said the word in class, that blonde Malfoy boy…"

"Septimus," Lydia supplied.

"And when I asked him what it was, he laughed and said I'd better ask you," Audra finished.

Severus sighed deeply and glanced at Hermione, who immediately regained her bearings. "Come Lydia, Spencer," she murmured as she hoisted her youngest from the table gingerly. "Time to get a move on."

The children followed their mother only too eagerly, pleased in that moment that they were not Audra.

Severus took Lydia's recently vacated seat and rubbed a hand over his face, debating his response. "How much do you know of the war Uncle Harry won?"

Audra brushed at her waves impatiently and shrugged, her pretty brown eyes narrowing in confusion. "Well, I know Uncle Harry cut Voldemort's head off and that you and Mummy were a part of the Order and that it happened eighteen years ago."

Severus nodded deeply. "All true. What you have to understand, darling, is that the war had many more facets than you'll be able to comprehend unless you were a part of it."

Audra furrowed her brow challengingly. "Try me."

He smirked then, marveling at her uncanny resemblance to her mother. "The Dark Lord—Voldemort—had a set of followers that did his nasty bidding. They killed, tortured, maimed, kidnapped, all in the Dark Lord's name."

Audra crinkled her nose in disgust.

"It was the brutality of war. Those followers were coined Death Eaters very early on in the Dark Lord's tyranny. Septimus knows of them because the Malfoy's very famously held seats in his inner circle of monsters."

Audra's eyes widened innocently. "Septimus's family is bad?"

Severus thought how best to answer. "Not all bad—after the war, his father, Draco, sought out Headmaster Dumbledore to make his peace and return to good graces. He's been quiet since, but I'm sure his son has been primed with those blasted pureblooded sentiments. You'll be wise to keep your distance."

Audra nodded and folded her hands under her chin. Severus was brazen enough to hope that her questioning would stop there, but the girl forever took after her mother. "Why would he tell me to ask you? Why not Mum? Why not a professor, even?"

Severus pinched the bridge of his nose, fearing very much her reaction. This was the third conversation of identical matter he'd had with each of his children, and he hadn't a brilliant track record. Lydia forgave her father fairly easily because, as a Slytherin, she was given less grief than her siblings but poor Spencer locked himself in his quarters for the better part of three days. When he did finally venture out and was given a hard time in the Great Hall, Severus was pleased to see his sister immediately intervene and coolly save her brother from ridicule.

He hoped each year that he'd be able to avoid this painful conversation but found each year that it was futile.

He sighed heavily. "Because, love, during the war, I held a Death Eater's position."

His heart clenched as Audra paled. "What?" she laughed nervously. "No—no, you couldn't have been. You were with the Order. Mum was Uncle Harry's best friend, she helped him—she wouldn't have loved you if you were on the bad side."

Severus squeezed his eyes shut. "My true allegiance was with the Order, you're right. But during the war, I played the role of spy. I convinced the Dark Lord I was truly a Death Eater at heart and only held a position at Hogwarts as a way of spying on Dumbledore and Uncle Harry in order to vanquish them. This was false, of course, and having eyes in Death Eater meetings eventually helped us win the war. But I was forced to do many things I'll forever be horrified by."

_Forced to do horrible things to your mother_, he said to himself, grimacing at how true it was. That was one truth he hoped his children would never be privy to.

Audra jumped up and scuttled away from him until her back hit the wall. The fear in her eyes cut at his chest. "You killed people?" she breathed. "Tortured them?"

Snape rose to his feet as well but kept a considerable distance between them. "Against my will, sweetheart," he implored. "But yes. I did."

A guttural cry that surprised even her escaped Audra's throat and she clamped a hand over her mouth. "How many? Who were they?"

Severus sagged under the weight of her accusations. "I honestly don't know either answer. It was better—easier—if I remained impersonal about it."

"Impersonal," she breathed. He could tell she was trying extraordinarily hard to keep her breathing regular but it wasn't really going her way.

He took a tentative step toward her but when she froze up, he halted. "Audra," he murmured gently, "that was a long time ago and without my position in that war, more people would have died. Believe me when I say that I will forever punish myself for my actions far worse than anyone else would." He searched her face for understanding. "I am not that man, darling. I am your father."

With that, Audra met his eyes and he could see hers were brimming with the tears she was trying so desperately to contain. "And a Death Eater," she whispered before burying her face in her hands and running back to her bedroom.

Severus felt an immense weight on his chest at her words and found it increasingly difficult to breath. It wasn't until he felt fingertips massaging his shoulder gently that even moved.

"She'll come 'round, darling," Hermione murmured, pressing herself against his back and wrapping her arms around them. "Lydia and Spencer did, and Audra will, too."

Severus turned immediately and encased her in his arms, needing her acceptance now more than he ever had. He tucked her head beneath his chin and said no more on the subject.


	3. Chapter 3

Snape sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose when it became apparent later that day that his daughter hadn't forgiven him. She avoided his gaze at all costs and refused to raise her hand, which was as unusual a behavior for her as it would've been for her mother. She was paler than she normally was, which wasn't saying much, but she also couldn't have exchanged more than a word with Albus Potter, and _that_ was strange. They'd been very close since they were very young, much to Snape's chagrin.

He plastered on his accustomed scowl, but didn't have to force it as much as he usually did since the end of the war. This one came a bit more naturally.

A flick of his wand covered the board with instructions and he turned to voice his thankfully silent class. "Begin," he nearly whispered, but he needn't say it twice. The class jumped to their feet and all but ran to the supply closet.

All but Audra.

She took her time, collecting her brown waves into a ponytail and smoothing out her skirt until nearly everyone had gotten their supplies and returned to their stools. At long last, she hopped off her seat and meandered slowly to the closet.

Snape growled deeply within his throat. She was testing him, and he knew it. He blew his hair out of his face and faced the Slytherins in the room, determined to make it look like he hadn't seen his antics. He couldn't afford the class thinking he played favoritism with his own children, but after the eruption the morning brought, reprimanding her didn't feel beneficial to their relationship at the moment.

The breaking point came when he heard a flask shatter behind him, followed by a giggled, "Oops," he knew very well. He clamped his eyes shut and whirled around, cursing the girl's obstinacy for making the ensuing argument necessary.

He crossed his arms across his chest only to find his daughter in a very similar position, her eyebrow raised in challenge. Snape narrowed his eyes. This would not end well.

"Miss Snape, as it appears you have lost the ability to perform the prescribed tasks on time, without breaking the instruments of this classroom, you may make up lost time in detention with me this evening," he nearly whispered. The entire class hung on his every word.

Audra narrowed her eyes dangerously but wisely held her tongue.

_Good girl_, Severus thought, moving towards his desk. Before he could sit, however, he heard a snide remark from the Slytherin side of the room that set his blood to boil.

"Even your own father knows you're beneath us," Septimus Malfoy hissed. "It's about time your Mudblood mother taught you your place."

Snape had the boy hauled up by his collar in the matter of three seconds, and now Audra joined her classmates in their awestruck silence.

"I will not have any semblance of that word uttered in my presence, Malfoy," Snape spat, enjoying the fear that decorated the boy's face, though it was slight. "As such, you will not speak to a fellow student with such blatant disrespect, and in my presence at that." He dropped the boy unceremoniously, reigning in his manic temper before he did something he'd regret. "Detention all week, and 10 points from Slytherin."

Half the class started groaning, but were silenced with one withering glare from their professor. Exasperated, he banished the class from his sight for the day, vowing they'd pay for their disobedience in the following lesson. Most of the class scattered as quickly as was allowed. Only two straggled.

One he expected, and he welcomed the sight of his daughter, her cheeks rouged from rage and confusion, to that of the unexpected Septimus who looked quite like he'd confronted a particularly nasty Blast-ended Skrewit.

Giving Audra a halting hand, he first lent the Malfoy boy his attention, hoping the quicker he dealt with whatever qualm he had now, the sooner he'd be out of his sight. The boy was looking a little too smug for just having earned a week of detention. Snape crossed his arms, looking down at him over a hooked nose.

"Yes?" he drawled.

"I've a message, sir, from my Granddad." He grinned knowingly.

Snape's heart jolted a bit at his words. "Your grandfather is rotting in a heavily guarded cell in Azkaban," he spat. "What message could you possibly have to pass along?"

Septimus raised his brow. "Didn't you hear, Professor? He was released. Something about good behavior."

Snape growled despite himself. "Impossible. The man got two life sentences for his crimes."

The boy shook his head. "I assure you, Professor, he is out and well. And he asked me to tell you he looks forward to a visit from his old friend." He shot a daring glance at Audra, for which Severus wanted to smack him, before returning his gaze to his Head of House. "He also wants me to assure you that when you visit, your wife's presence is not only welcome, it's demanded."

There was an uncomfortable amount of haughtiness in his voice that told Snape he knew certainly more than he should, but he hoped he was wrong. The boy had turned on his heel and was gone before Snape could get his bearings and he released his fury against the stone wall of the dungeons.

"Daddy?" said a small voice from behind him.

Severus rubbed his hand over his face and turned to face her. Even from where he stood, he could see the well of tears brimming in her eyes. Instantly, his anger drained and an unbearable exhaustion set in.

This couldn't happening, not again. Severus himself had seen to it that Lucius Malfoy would rot in hell for the brutality he used against his wife, not to mention half the Wizarding World, and now his grand-brat informed him that he was free? That he demanded Hermione's presence on a social call?

Severus would kill the man himself if presented the chance.

He sat heavily and pulled Audra to him just as the floodgates opened and the sobs came. She buried her face into his shoulder and he rubbed her back gently.

"Shh shh," he murmured, "I'm sorry love. Believe me when I say I didn't _want _to give you detention—"

Audra pulled back sharply, her face contorted with tears and confusion. "Detention?" she asked. "I—I don't care about that, I was goading you as hard as I could. I…Daddy, what was that? What was that Septimus said to me, t-to you?"

He pulled the girl gingerly onto his lap and nestled her head against the crook of his neck. "That isn't for you to worry about, darling. Let me take care of that. As for what he said to you, well…he's a prick, he takes after his father at that age."

"Dad!" she explained, scolding his language. She sighed though, frustrated he wouldn't tell her but knowing it was futile. "You'll tell me when I'm older?"

"When you're older," Severus agreed. It was an exchange they'd repeated multiple times over the years.

She shook her head and hopped off his lap, rubbing her face clean and slinging her bag across her shoulder. She turned right before she hit the exit and murmured, "Oh, I won't be around after dinner—some toad of a professor gave me detention." With that, she ducked from the classroom and was out of sight.

Severus laughed lightly and shook his head. At least _that_ dilemma looked like it was clearing itself up. But now the image of Lucius Malfoy, blonde, overbearing, and grotesque, loomed over him and he wondered how much, if any, he should tell Hermione.

**Author's Note: I still need suggestions for this story! Please, if you've got any, leave them in the reviews. You'll definitely see them in the story.**


	4. Chapter 4

Hermione laughed lightly as the very last of her first years trickled out into the hall, each of them amazed at the goblet they'd just watched transform into a flower. She shook her head and shuffled around the paper on her desk, eager for nothing more than to retire to the dungeons that'd quickly become home to her. In truth, her feet ached and her back complained but she daren't speak up about her ailments for fear that her husband would insist that she rest for the remainder of the pregnancy.

A light knock on her classroom door startled her out of her internal musings.

She turned and brokeunto an involuntary smile when her eyes found not a student or colleague in need but the wide eyes of her newest little Gryffindor. Audra watched her mother cautiously from the doorframe, waiting for her to bid her entrance.

Hermione furrowed her brow at her daughter's uncharacteristic hesitance. "Come in love," she exclaimed.

Audra nodded and took a few paces into the classroom but only enough so that she had space to shut the door behind her. When she'd done that, she froze, her face pinched by an uncertainty Hermione wasn't at all comfortable with.

"Darling?" she asked lightly.

"Mum, who is Septimus Malfoy's Granddad and why is Daddy so afraid of him?". She'd spoken do quickly and in such haste that it took Hermione a moment to work out the question.

When she did, she felt the unmistakable churn of her blood curdling. She collapsed immediately and was immensely grateful for the chair that was directly behind her.

"Mum!" Audra cried. She was by her mother's side in a heartbeat.

"What business have you with the Malfoy family?" Her question was actually sharper than she'd intended but the girl's inquiry had left her wracked with chills.

Audra bit her lip, wondering how best to proceed. "Septimus is in my potions class," she said at last. "After the last block, he told Dad his Granddad had a message for him. He said that he'd been released from Azkaban and wanted Dad and you to visit."

Hermione couldn't have stopped the gasp she released if there'd been a wand to her throat, but she was embarrassed by the reactions the vile man could elicit using merely words.

Audra, however, wasn't through. "He said you weren't only invited. You _had_to go with Dad." She watched her mother carefully, waiting for a response, and grew impatient when she received none. "Why, Mum? Why does he want to see you so badly? Why did Daddy get so mad?"

Hermione smoothed back the curls on her daughter's beautiful heafought desperately fought the stubborn urge to cry. "That's not something you need to concern yourself with, love-"

"Don't give me that," Audra growled. "I have never seen Dad so mad. What...what'd that man do?"

Hermione swallowed hard and studied the girl's earnest eyes. "He-he hurt Mummy, a very long time ago. It was in the middle of the war Uncle Harry won, and the Malfoy's were a family affiliated with very dark magic in those days." She shook her head, fighting the memories that suddenly threatened to suffocate her, and sighed. "Ill tell you when you're older, love."

Audra frowned bad-temperdly but relented because, if she were honest, the way her mother's eyes had cloused over was truly frightening.

After a moment, Hermione stood abruptly, and made quickly for the door.

"Where're you going?" Audra called incredulously.

Hermione paused but did not turn. "I need a word with your father."

**Author's note: so sorry for the hiatus and also for the pitiful length of this chapter. I typed this on my phone, easier said than done, and wanted to get it out before you all forgot about this story. As always, review and I promise to make the next one meaty. **


	5. Chapter 5

Severus pinched the bridge of his nose forcefully, trying to stem the headache that was thriving under the influence of the din his children were creating. They were to move into their dormitories, as their peers had already done, and were as eager as ever to separate from both each other and their parents' prying gazes. Little Charlotte sat atop a large suitcase belonging, presumably, to Lydia, watching the madness unfold before her.

"Dad, why can't we just take it all through the Floo? It seems silly to lug it all the way to Gryffindor tower." Spencer was tugging ardently at the handles of his trunk, struggling to squeeze it through the doorway of his room.

"It's hardly lugging if you're allowed to levitate it, and you know the Floo isn't for mindless popping in and out." His voice was sharper than he intended, but after the day he'd had, he wanted nothing more than blissful quiet.

The dungeon door slammed behind his irate, pregnant wife, shattering _that_ dream after it'd barely begun. He spun on his heel warily to face her, wondering what he possibly could've done to inspire such wrath as he hadn't seen her since the morning.

Audra peeked cautiously around her mother's waist, just as uneasy as her father, and seeing the silent exchange between them, she clammed up and scampered into the back bedroom, shutting the door quickly behind her.

One look at Hermione's face gave Severus his answer. _Shit._

Her mouth was tight, her lips pursed, and her eyes were narrowed to slits, but they weren't directed at him. He saw anger, a lot of anger, but she was glancing around wildly, raking a hand through her hair in a frenzy. This wasn't like her. He hadn't seen this much unrestricted anguish on her face since...

His stomach clenched uncomfortably. "Hermione-"

She held up a shaky hand to stop him and turned to Lydia, Charlotte, and Spencer, all of whom had stopped in their tracks at their mother's frantic countenance. "To your rooms," she murmured, what should have been a forceful command yielding to a breathy plea. "Now."

They needn't be told twice. They scurried in after Audra and slammed the door in their wake.

Finally, Hermione set her eyes upon her husband, and Severus watched with horror as her lower lip began to tremble.

"No, Hermione..."

"Tell me it's not true." Her voice was a whisper, but she clearly cut him off. "Lucius Malfoy? A free man? Demanding my..." She gulped visibly. "My presence?" She threw her hands up in the air, but at the same moment her knees seemed to give way.

Severus reached her crumpling form in a matter of seconds, seizing her by the elbows before she hit the ground. Now his breath was caught. Fear squeezed his lungs, and he guided her over to her armchair, depositing her gently. When she was safely seated, he fell to his knees on the ground before her.

Her eyes were wild, crazed, and if she realized she'd almost collided with the stone, she didn't let on. A small cry escaped her throat, guttural and primal.

The sound, burned his ears, and shied away from it, reeling back to rest against his own heels. He grasped her hand tightly, rubbing both thumbs over her knuckles. "He will not come within any reasonable distance of you or so help me, I will take his life in my own hands," he spat.

"How?" She murmured, dismayed when he didn't immediately set her fears straight, when he didn't tell her it was all a lie. "How could he possibly have been released? He got two life sentences, for Merlin's sake!"

"I don't know love," Severus said sorrowfully. "I don't know, but believe me, I intend to find out and give Hell to those responsible."

She bit her lip to keep it from trembling, but when that proved an impossible task, she shook her head and dropped to her knees on the floor beside him. She buried her face in his neck and wept openly. "This can't be happening, Severus," she cried. "I thought...you know, I though this part of our lives was over."

Severus weaved his fingers through her hair and kissed her head gently before cradling it in the crook of his neck. "Albus hinted for many years that the Dark Lord merely gave a face to the evil pervading this world," he said gravely. "I fear perhaps he may've been right, and that this is the first step in the unveiling of a dark part of society that still remains strong all these eighteen years hence."

Hermione pulled back enough to look at him. "What it's all for? Another war?" Her voice was incredulous.

He didn't want to say that, yes, that is exactly what all of this might mean. He took, instead, to tucking a stray lock of hair behind her ear.

She swiped at her tears, embarrassed, and shook her head. "It's barmy," she whispered. "A social call...with my rapist."

Severus grunted and thought for a moment about how to respond, but a small gasp in the hall drew both of their gazes immediately. Lydia's dark eyes were wide as saucers and her thin body had gone rigid as stone. "What d'you mean, rapist?"


End file.
